If you want to pursue a career in the IT field but worry you don’t yet have the right tech skills under your belt, don’t let doubt stand in your way. Today’s employers are looking for a lot more than just technical abilities when hiring for IT roles. Even if you don't have a technology-related degree, you could still be a strong contender for an entry-level IT job in today’s competitive market.

Technical skills are important, of course, and they’re what most employers consider first. But many businesses are loosening requirements for some tech positions because there is simply not enough talent with advanced skills available for hire. Many are willing to take a chance on training candidates who may lack extensive hands-on work experience in technology but have other valuable knowledge and attributes — plus a lot of star potential.

Hiring managers interviewed for a Robert Half Technology survey pointed to several different non-IT backgrounds that can give candidates a competitive edge in the hiring process for tech roles. Topping the list is business or marketing. Almost half of respondents (44 per cent) indicated that employers place a lot of value on these skills. The growing number of digital transformation initiatives that require close collaboration between IT and the operations side of an organisation is one reason companies need technology professionals with business acumen. These abilities are also essential for management roles in technology. For students about to enter the workforce who aspire to become tech leaders someday, that is something to keep in mind: You’ll need to keep expanding and refining business and marketing skills throughout your career.

Ranking second among the survey responses were mathematics skills (32 per cent). For hard-to-fill specialist positions like data modeler and data scientist, these skills are vital. And they're useful for computer science jobs and other technology roles.

Also important — even for some of the most technical jobs in the digital era — are soft skills like writing and critical thinking abilities. (For management and other leadership roles in IT, these are also must-haves.) Companies want to hire tech pros with soft skills, which is why a liberal arts education can carry weight in an IT job search, according to 18 per cent of hiring managers surveyed.

Show how you can add value

Another recent survey by our company helps underscore the strong need for nontechnical skill sets in the IT workforce. According to 29 per cent of the CIOs surveyed, communication skills, including written, personal and face-to-face, are the areas where today’s technology professionals require the most improvement. Twenty-four per cent cited work ethics.

So, new grads — even if you already have a strong technical background and an education in some aspect of IT — be prepared to highlight other types of in-demand skills, you have. In your resume/cover letter and during the interview process, demonstrate that:

  • You are an effective communicator
  • You have a strong understanding of business (even better if you have specific knowledge of the potential employer’s company or industry)
  • You have a history of coming up with creative solutions to problems

Robert Half Technology’s latest Salary Guide offers two additional tips for IT job seekers that can be especially useful to new grads who haven’t yet amassed extensive technical skills:

  • Present a work history that shows measurable career progression. Even if your work to date has been outside of the IT field and primarily consists of internships and volunteer opportunities, a hiring manager is likely to notice if it shows a clear pattern of professional growth and increasing responsibility.
  • Exhibit a proven record of delivering results to previous employers. Be ready to explain to a hiring manager how you have personally added value to projects and organisations — in the workforce or as a student. It can make a big impression. Employers gravitate toward candidates who are able to clearly articulate how they can add value to a company.

There’s no substitute for passion

Something else that can set you apart in an entry-level IT job search is your passion for IT. Findings from the IT hiring manager survey mentioned earlier suggest that relevant hobbies and activities pursued in your free time — and even outside of school — can complement other qualities like professional experience and increase your appeal as a candidate.

Almost two-thirds of the survey respondents (72 per cent) said a new grad’s website or app development activity outside of a workplace environment would be of interest to a company. Developer roles are among the hardest for employers to fill because this type of tech talent is in such high demand in every industry. So no matter what programming skills you’ve taken the time to be a student of on your own — whether it’s Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Python or another language — if you love to code and you’re good at it, make sure hiring managers know that.

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More resources:

Is Your Digital Footprint Hurting Your Chances of Getting Hired?
What Are the High-Paying IT Jobs for 2017?
How to Get Your IT Resume Into a Hiring Manager's Hands